Greenside High School debating students had the honour of visiting the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Pretoria earlier in August.
As part of their research for an upcoming debate in September, the Greenside High Model UN MiniMun debating team requested some information from the embassy, but instead of sending through answers on email, the representatives invited the team to attend a question and answer session at the embassy.
The team was greeted by senior policy advisor Bregje Wijsenbeek who ushered them into the conference room. Wijsenbeek began a presentation about the Netherlands’ ventures into the UN Security Council after being joined by the Dutch Ambassador to South Africa Marisa Gerards. The debaters asked direct questions about their topic, which concerned the current crisis in Syria, to the ambassador who gave detailed answers. The debaters were complimented for their insight and the development of their questions by both the ambassador and policy advisor. Through this experience, the youngsters learned much about the Netherland’s political position on world affairs.
Wijsenbeek gave the debaters a presentation on the Security Council and detailed the Netherlands’ position on a number of topics.
The students enjoyed getting to shake hands with the Dutch ambassador and went home with a sense of accomplishment through seeing beyond the Visa queues and into the workings of the embassy.
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